JFK’s new $4.2B terminal to feature ‘Museum Row’ art district

JFK Airport's new $4.2 billion Terminal 6 will transform its international arrivals corridor into a museum district, featuring permanent art installations from four of New York City's premier cultural institutions. The collaboration, announced Monday by the Port Authority and JFK Millennium Partners, will turn the terminal into what officials are calling "Museum Row" when it opens in phases between 2026 and 2028.

The ambitious partnership brings together the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts to create what Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton described as "a unique New York experience before they leave the terminal".panynj

Star-Studded Art Program Features Yoko Ono Installation

MoMA's contribution centers on a collaboration with Yoko Ono, creating a special installation inspired by her 2019 work "PEACE is POWER," which covers the walls and ceiling of a MoMA corridor with sky blue gradients and peace messages in white capital letters. According to the announcement, the airport installation will "invite travelers to engage with the depth and urgency of her voice".news.artnet+1

Lincoln Center plans to contribute a 140-foot mural featuring scenes from music, theater, dance, and opera set against the performing arts complex's iconic architecture and New York City streets. The piece aims to showcase "the city as a global stage where culture, creativity, and community converge".6sqft+1

Museum Collections Come to Life

The Met will showcase the breadth of its world-renowned holdings through images representing each of its 17 curatorial collections, including reproductions of the famous Unicorn Tapestries from The Cloisters and a Dior bar suit from the Costume Institute. This comprehensive display will reflect the museum's role as a cultural cornerstone and demonstrate New York's status as the cultural capital of the world.news.artnet+1

The American Museum of Natural History's installation will feature a curated tapestry of images from its most iconic exhibits and research divisions. Travelers will encounter the museum's famous Tyrannosaurus rex specimen, the Rapa Nui figure, and scenes from the Hall of North American Mammals alongside displays from the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation. These visual previews serve as cultural appetizers, designed to entice visitors to explore the full collections once they reach the city.internationalairportreview

Broader Art Initiative

The museum partnership represents just one component of Terminal 6's comprehensive art program, which includes 19 major site-specific permanent installations curated by the Public Art Fund with a $22 million budget. Artists include Barbara Kruger, Charles Gaines, Nina Chanel Abney, and Teresita Fernández.artsy+1

Terminal 6 forms part of the Port Authority's $19 billion transformation of JFK Airport, with the first phase opening in 2026 and full completion by 2028.6sqft